Medicine: For the Birds

Psittacosis, or parrot fever, produces chills, fever, nausea and
occasional pulmonary disorders; if untreated, 20% of its victims will
die. Not surprisingly, it most often strikes people who keep or handle
parrots or other pet birds. But psittacosis may not be the only ailment
that bird owners can acquire from their feathered friends. A pair of
English researchers report in The Lancet that the same organism that
causes parrot fever may also bring on a form of heart dis ease. Doctors
have long been looking for causes other than rheumatic fever for
disease of the heart valves; it is only relatively...